In January, First Data notified Visa of a 'private arrangement' in which transactions for a few Visa issuers would bypass VisaNet in running entirely on First Data's system. Visa asked First Data to wait for approval, but First Data indicated that it would proceed anyway. In a letter of April 9, Visa gave First Data permission to run a 30-day pilot, with a limit of 3,500 transactions, to which First Data responded, in protest at the 30-day limit, and to state its intent to proceed.